Last night was Latitude 53’s annual The Fine Art of Schmoozy Fundraiser — just Schmoozy for short. Maybe you were there. It was the first time I’d gone in two years, and it was great to be able to attend as someone who was a part of the whole thing in my own small way. Guests wore excellent outfits channeling bond villains, matching the theme ‘License to Schmooze’. I watched one person remove an elbow-length white glove so that they could use their phone. There’s probably a niche for phone friendly elegant gloves. We love Halloween and black tie events for roughly the same reason: the chance to slip into a character, something other than what we usually are. Would we feel better psychically if Halloween happened roughly quarterly instead of annually?

After I left the party I went for a walk with some friends. The snow which had been on the ground recently was gone again. We sat at the edge of the river valley and drank cider while looking across at the lights from the university. It was temperate enough to sit outside in just my suit with no coat. The grass was still very alive. It doesn’t really need to be mentioned, but we do love to repeat ourselves: the river valley is a special place.

Sundays are a good time to sit down with maybe with a book, a cup of tea, and if you’re reading this, presumably the internet and allow yourself to consider how words affect the way you live your life. To help with this task, as always, I’ve shared a poem below. I hope it finds you well. As always, if you find this useful, share it with a friend, or leave a comment below. This is an attempt at conversation.